LAHORE: The 30th convocation of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) conferred degrees upon 1,110 students of different programmes, at the campus on Saturday.
This year also marked the graduation of nine doctorate graduates, making it the highest number in the history of LUMS.
A former international bureaucrat, as well as former governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Dr Ishrat Hussain, was the chief guest of the ceremony whereas LUMS Rector Abdul Razzak Dawood, faculty members, the management committee members, trustees, students and their parents were also present on the occasion.
LUMS Vice Chancellor Professor Dr S Sohail H Naqvi presided over his last convocation at LUMS. He would be stepping down from the position of vice chancellor effective from August 1, 2018 to join the University of Central Asia as its founding rector.
Among the 1,110 degrees, a total of 158 high achievers and winners of the National Management Foundation, corporate medals and those placed on the Dean’s Honour Roll were recognised at the event. Out of the graduating students, 849 were undergraduate and 252 graduates with degrees from different schools at LUMS.
The ceremony was initiated in a ritualistic manner, with the entrance of the academic procession at the convocation venue. The procession included students and faculty from all five schools including Suleman Dawood School of Business, Mushtaq Ahmad Gurmani School of Humanities & Social Sciences, Syed Babar Ali School of Science & Engineering, Sheikh Ahmed Hassan School of Law and LUMS School of Education.
LUMS VC Professor Dr Sohail Naqvi in his address congratulated the graduating class and said that the youth has always been the instigator of social change.
“I am proud of my association with this uniquely talented LUMS family comprising the faculty, staff and students. It has been a wonderful experience leading this special team and witnessing the spectacular growth of LUMS in research, innovation, knowledge exchange with business and industry and service to the community. The exceptional environs of LUMS under the able guidance of faculty mentors nurtures the graduates who are the future leaders of this beautiful country, poised to take it to great heights,” he said.
Addressing the convocation, Dr Ishrat Hussain motivated the batch to pursue their leadership goals, while embodying empathy and authenticity.
“I have always held complete faith in our institutions, our processes and the competence of our academia to take on the challenging role of service to its student communities providing quality education and competitive environments to realise professional learning objectives on the road to a future that ensures the wellbeing of Pakistan’s economy. And I can confidently say that LUMS continuously and significantly supports this objective,” he said.
Abdul Razzak Dawood also addressed the convocation. He thanked Dr Sohail Naqvi for his endless efforts during his tenure in making LUMS a world-class institute and shared his best wishes for his future endeavours.
Earlier, a Graduate Night which was celebrated as LUMS tradition, preceded the convocation on Friday.
Published in Daily Times, July 1st 2018.